snow removal toronto

Toronto won't stop complaining about the lack of snow removal in the city

It's no secret that Toronto was hit with a fairly significant snow storm Saturday, prompting several special weather alerts and forcing many to stay home for the day. 

But for some residents, more annoying than the storm itself is the amount of time it's taking the city to clean up the streets and sidewalks.

The TO Winter Operations Twitter account posted yesterday that cleanup operations were underway. 

"Cleanup operations in response to yesterday's storm are continuing today as we focus on clearing missed streets, driveways, parked car locations, etc," they wrote. "Cleanup will continue on Monday where required."

And as of earlier this morning, the same Twitter account indicated that "salting and plowing operations, in response to Saturday’s storm, on roads, sidewalks, trails and bike lanes are all complete. Cleanup operations will continue over the next few days at parking areas, corners, etc."

But Toronto residents are taking to social media to express their complaints about the quality and consistency of the city's snow removal process. 

Some are even saying the city's plows have made the whole situation worse. 

Many Toronto residents are also expressing concerns about elderly people who've been left to shovel snow at the end of their driveways piled high by mechanical sidewalk plows. 

And others are pointing out the messy, unaccessible state of the city's bus stops. 

Residents are also complaining about bike lanes rendered unusable thanks to snowbanks left behind by plows. 

But despite the endless number of complaints, the city isn't actually the only one that carries the responsibility of clearing sidewalks and putting down salt. 

"Business and property owners are responsible for ensuring that all ice and snow is cleared on sidewalks, driveways, parking spaces, steps, ramps and landings within 12 hours of snowfall to provide safe access for people and vehicles," the city's website states.

"Clearing the ice and snow from the sidewalk in front of your home or business will make it safer for everyone. Failure to do so can result in fines."

The city's website also indicates that "sidewalk plows clear about 6,400 km of Toronto’s 7,900 km of sidewalk. In older parts of Toronto, narrow sidewalks, obstructions and obstacles prevent plows from working safely."

And for those of you wondering when the city's snow removal vehicles last hit your neighbourhood, you can track the real-time locations of plows, sidewalk plows and salt trucks and identify which roads have been serviced by winter snow clearing vehicles and crews on the city's PlowTO Map.

Lead photo by

Yogi Shankar


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